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Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs Game 1 – 8/29/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction


2020-08-29 16:10:00 EDT

The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds meet Saturday in MLB action from Great American Ball Park. 

This will be the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday and the second game in a four-game weekend set featuring these teams. In the Friday opener, the Reds held off a late Chicago rally to emerge victorious in a tight matchup 6-5. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Cubs had just six hits to Cincinnati’s 11 during the Friday loss, and scored three of their five runs in the ninth inning. Kyle Schwarber was the only Chicago player with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with two runs and a solo homer. Kyle Hendricks took the loss in the start there with 6.0 innings, five earned, 10 hits and two homers allowed. 

For the Saturday game, The Cubs will be sending out Yu Darvish in the starting role. In six starts this season Darvish has been great, racking up a 5-1 record with 44 strikeouts and a 1.70 ERA in 37.0 innings. On his career, Darvish is 68-54 with a 3.51 ERA and 1343 Ks in 1088.0 frames total. 

Over on the Reds’ side, they got a solid start out of Tyler Mahle on Friday with 6.2 innings, two earned, two walks, 11 strikeouts and two homers allowed in a winning effort. Eugenio Suarez was the top hitter for Cincinnati there with a solo homer, three RBI, three hits and two runs. 

For the Saturday start, Cincinnati will roll with Trevor Bauer. Across five starts and a 3-1 record so far, Bauer has a 1.65 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 32.2 innings of work. For his career, Bauer has a 3.98 ERA with a 73-61 record and 1228 Ks in 1149.2 innings total. 

The Cubs are 40-53 against the line in road games over the last two seasons and 33-49 against the line in road games versus division opponents over the last two seasons. Chicago is 42-48 against the line after a loss over the last two seasons and 89-104 against the money line in all games over the last two seasons. 

Cincinnati is 2-2 versus the Cubs this season and four of four games in this series have gone over the total. Bauer is 4-2 versus the Cubs and the over is 1-5 in those games. 

Pick: I’m leaning Cubs here. That’s mainly because Darvish is on the mound, and he’s been pretty darn awesome for the most part in 2020. Last time he was up, Darvish struck out 10 White Sox batters and walked just one, surrendering one run via a solo home run in seven innings for the win. Last season, Darvish was 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA in five starts versus Cincinnati, but I like his chances here. Chicago should be set up well, and may even get a complete (seven-inning) game if they’re lucky. 

Andrew's Free Pick: Chicago Cubs +118

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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